Assist Suicide Case Study

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Ethical, Legal, And Business Considerations in Hospitals

The nursing staff employed at the Cancer Center of a suburban hospital is having a continual deterioration of their morale. Many of their patients, more so as of late than usual, are being diagnosed with terminal cancer. This is causing the nurse's morale to be lowered through their lack of interest in their job, frustration, and dissatisfaction. One patient in particular is frustrating staff member Nancy Nurse. Mrs. Jones, a thirty-year-old single mother has been diagnosed with a terminal cancer that is rapidly decreasing her health. Nancy Nurse states that the next time Mrs. Jones arrives for treatment, she is going to give her more narcotic than usual, risking Mrs. Jones' life. Before Nancy Nurse completes giving Mrs. Jones the narcotic, she should deeply consider the ethical, legal, and business consequences of such decision for herself, Mrs. Jones, and the Cancer Center.

Identify and explain at least three ethical considerations:

Beyond the question of science or law is that of ethics. Is it right or is it wrong for Nancy Nurse to administer such a high dosage of narcotics to Mrs. Jones? First, it is imperative to explore whether or not the dosage is necessary. If the dosage is either necessary or within reasonable amounts to should be suggested for a patient in Mrs. Jones' condition, it is arguable to state that the battle of ethics is not significant in this scenario. But if the dosage is clearly not within reasonable dosages for patients of this type, it is unjust to complete the process.

Considering that the dosage is reasonable, the Cancer Center should caution Mrs. Jones of the alteration in her medicinal intake, as well as what risks come from the increase. If Mrs. Jones has the capability as to whether she should make change the medicine dosage or not, the decision should be hers. If Mrs. Jones clearly does not have autonomy, the decision should then be passed to her family, not to Nancy Nurse (Cancer.

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org, 2010).

It must also be explored as to if Nancy Nurse has the right to make the decision to raise the dosage in the first place. Even if the dosage may be reasonably taken, even if Mrs. Jones or her family decides she may take the increase in narcotics, is Nancy Nurse unethically making a decision that is not hers to make? Nancy Nurse needs to consider the individual as a single mother with cancer, not as another frustrating situation she must deal with at her less than satisfying job.

Identify and explain at least three legal considerations:

In addition to ethical considerations, there are legal considerations the Cancer Center and Nancy Nurse must be conscious of before raising Mrs. Jones' dosage of narcotics. Assuming Mrs. Jones has her rights as a fully functional patient to decide if she wants to receive the medicine, Nancy Nurse needs to receive verbal or written consent from Mrs. Jones before proceeding with the potentially life threatening dose distribution. If Mrs. Jones is either uneducated or disapproves of the new dosage, the distribution of such could not only be life threatening, but could be a legal battle of malpractice (Showalter, 2004). In the case that Mrs. Jones is not in the state of mind to be capable of making her own decision, the right is then legally passed to her family (Cancer.org, 2010). Nancy Nurse must also be aware as to if she is legally responsible in deciding that the dosage should be raised. If Nancy Nurse has enough experience to make this decision but not enough formal education or authority within the Cancer Center, the legal consequences could be detrimental to both her and the hospital.

Explain how the patient Bill of Rights applies to this case:

The Patient's Bill of rights was founded on three major principles, each of which is important to the Nancy Nurse and Mrs. Jones case. First, the patient has the right to a health care system….....

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